Latest news with #BorussiaDortmund
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kristjaan Speakman's exciting Sunderland claim as Jobe Bellingham transfer confirmed
KRISTJAAN Speakman believes Jobe Bellingham's progression on Wearside and record-breaking move to Borussia Dortmund is further evidence of the "strength of Sunderland's strategy and what's possible". The club's sporting director said Bellingham "lived and breathed Sunderland every step of the way" during his two years on Wearside and believes the midfielder made a lasting impact at the Stadium of Light. Advertisement Bellingham has today completed his move to Borussia Dortmund, joining the Bundesliga giants for €33, plus €5m in add-ons. Sunderland sources say the add-ons are "realistic". The agreement also contains a 15 per cent sell-on fee. The move brings to an end Bellingham's two-year stay at Sunderland, which culminated in promotion to the Premier League last month. Bellingham was a star for Regis Le Bris' side last season, starting 39 and featuring in 40 of Sunderland's regular Championship games before playing every minute in the successful play-off campaign. RECOMMENDED READING: Advertisement Despite winning promotion with Sunderland, Bellingham still felt it was the right time to move on and was keen to follow in his brother Jude's footsteps by joining Dortmund. The move was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the first summer deadline at 7pm UK time. Bellingham is now eligible to play for Dortmund in the upcoming Club World Cup. Speakman said: 'I had no doubts that Jobe would develop with us at Sunderland. "He has an unrelenting commitment to improvement that only the very best possess, and his progression is clear for all to see. "Less obvious are the sacrifices and the challenges along the way, and I couldn't be prouder of how he's conducted himself and embraced the club, the community, and our supporters. Advertisement "He's lived and breathed Sunderland every step of the way. For our club, it's another representation of the strength of our strategy and what's possible. "Jobe wanted to create his own story, be part of a new Sunderland, and make a lasting impact. He achieved all of this, and although we are naturally disappointed to lose a player of Jobe's quality, everyone at SAFC wishes him well in this next stage of his journey.' Ahead of the move being completed, Bellingham posted an emotional farewell on his Instagram page. He wrote: "It's time for me to say farewell to all the loyal people of Sunderland, who have powered me through two incredible years in red and white. Advertisement "Your support, on so many occasions, has completely blown me away, especially in the times of adversity which we pulled through together. "You welcomed me with open arms as a kid leaving home for the first time, and I am proud that our relationship has grown to be so strong ever since. Your support for the team and I since I arrived at your beloved football club was unwavering, and for that I am forever indebted to you as people and supporters. "I will always represent Wearside in all that I strive to achieve for the rest of my career, wherever that may be. "I hope that I have made you proud along the way, and in return you have made me the player that has reached the heights I find myself at today. So thank you. Advertisement "I will love and remember you fondly for the rest of my life, from the bottom of my heart. "I tried to embody the passion you have for the city on the football pitch and I'm so incredibly delighted our journey came to an end with a victory at Wembley to restore the club in its rightful place. "To the staff, players and most importantly the supporters thank you so much and good luck for the future. "Jobe, adopted Mackem."
Daily Maverick
16 minutes ago
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Divisive Club World Cup finally comes into focus as ‘world's best' fight for gold
The pre-flight checks of the revamped Fifa Club World Cup have been anything but smooth. From player backlash for the addition of another major tournament in an already bloated schedule, to unions taking global soccer's governing body Fifa to court over player welfare, it's been a bumpy build-up. The excitement Fifa was hoping for before the tournament has been absent so far, with the organisers even being forced to slash ticket prices due to slow sales. True Club World Cup Despite all the pushback and setbacks, as well as widespread accusations of unilaterally conceptualising the tournament, Fifa boss Gianni Infantino said he was excited to see what the rejigged World Cup could offer. 'Any club from anywhere in the world can dream (about) playing in the Club World Cup. And any player from anywhere in the world can dream about playing for one of these clubs, because these are the best clubs in the world,' Infantino stated. 'The 32 best teams of the world — including 12 European, six South American, four from the other continents, one from Oceania, five from North America — will play to determine (for the first time in history) which will really be the best club in the world. You cannot be the best if you don't play against clubs from everywhere — the best clubs from everywhere,' said Infantino. Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City are in by virtue of being crowned European champions between 2020 and 2024. Due to Madrid clinching it twice in that qualifying period, 2024 finalists Borussia Dortmund are also in. Teams such as Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Porto, Benfica and Austria's RB Salzburg have qualified via the rankings system derived from their performances in European competition of the past four years. With the cap for the participating European countries being at only two teams per country — sides such as Liverpool and Barcelona (whose ranking points were not sufficient at the time of the qualification process closing) — miss out. Africa has four representatives — record African champions Al Ahly (Egypt), as well as 2022 Champions League winners Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns and Tunisian giants Espérance. In pursuit of prestige Teams have been drawn into eight groups of four, with each side playing their group opponents once. The top two of each group will progress to the round of 16, and from there it will be single-match knockouts to the final. Masandawana are in a fair group and will be confident of qualifying for the next round as one of the top two in the four-team mini-league. The 2016 African champions are grouped alongside Germany's Borussia Dortmund, Fluminense of Brazil and South Korean side Ulsan HD. Moving away from its annual format, the World Cup will take place every four years, as a precursor to every national World Cup, which is also quadrennial ever since doing away with the Confederations Cup. The previous iteration of the tournament — which had been contested since 2000 — featured six continental champions, plus a club from the host nation, facing off in a week of action-packed soccer. In that guise it struggled to garner any significant hype, usually just drawing in the supporters of the participating teams. Even then, it was mostly at a superficial level. With this expanded version, Fifa is hopeful that it can craft a tournament that will one day hold the same stature and prestige as the national teams' World Cup — which is the governing body's flagship competition. Criticism and controversy Although Infantino and Fifa have worked hard to cover the World Cup in the prettiest wrapping paper (including announcing a $1-billion pool of prize money), not everyone is happy about the rejigged club tournament. Upon the December 2022 confirmation by Fifa that the World Cup had been greenlighted by its council, global player union Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (Fifpro) denounced it. Fifpro said the decision was 'taken unilaterally and without seriously consulting, let alone agreeing, with the players'. Since then, Fifpro has been regularly critical of the tournament, going as far as mounting legal challenges in an attempt to halt it. In October 2024, Fifpro also filed a complaint against Fifa with the European Commission — in relation to the Club World Cup, as well as the expanded national teams' World Cup. The latter competition has ballooned from 32 participants to the 48 that will converge in North America for the 2026 edition. Player welfare Belgian playmaker Kevin de Bruyne has previously spoken out about the bloated soccer schedule, as has his former City teammate Rodri. In a cruel twist of fate, Rodri suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for almost a year — a week after saying players were close to striking over their busy soccer schedule. In the 2023/24 season, the Spanish midfield anchor played well over 50 matches for club and country. 'Fifa refuses to listen and engage with the players, the main labour resource of our industry. People who are there on the pitch, creating a powerhouse of European and global entertainment culture, and pushing their bodies to the limit,' said Fifpro Europe president David Terrier. 'But we have listened to our players. In countless discussions and locker-room visits, we have received the same messages for a long period of time, that they are playing too much and do not have enough time to recover,' Terrier stated. Some sectors of society have always been critical of sports stars, saying athletes are paid exuberant amounts of money just to play with a ball. However, not all sportspeople earn as much as Cristiano Ronaldo or LeBron James. They are anomalies rather than the norm. Globally, most sportspeople earn moderate amounts, in what is already an extremely short career path. In an ultra-capitalist world different sectors of society make different amounts of income. Based on this, they decide how much they want to pay their employees. Regardless, even high-earning sports stars deserve to be protected by labour laws. All the aforementioned overarching themes will be at the forefront between 15 June and 13 July as the US does a 'sound check' for 2026 — when it is set to co-host the national teams' World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Bellingham joins Dortmund on five-year contract
Jobe Bellingham has joined Borussia Dortmund from Sunderland on a five-year contract until June 2030. The 19-year-old midfielder has played for the Black Cats since 2023, making 90 appearances, and helped them secure promotion to the Premier League last season. Bellingham began his career at Birmingham City, coming through the academy before playing two years of senior football for the a statement, Bellingham said he is proud of the "strong" relationship he has with Sunderland supporters. "I will always represent Wearside in all that I strive to achieve for the rest of my career, wherever that may be," he said. More to follow.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chelsea halt negotiations with Milan for Mike Maignan after failing to agree fee
Chelsea have cooled their interest in Mike Maignan after failing to agree a fee with Milan for the goalkeeper before the Club World Cup. The Stamford Bridge club, who are also pursuing a deal for the Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens, commenced talks with Milan after being presented with an opportunity to sign Maignan. The France international has a year left on his deal and has indicated that he wants to join Chelsea. Advertisement Related: Football transfer rumours: Gittens to Chelsea before first deadline closes? Chelsea's hope has been to push transfers for Maignan and Gittens through before Tuesday's 7pm BST registration deadline for the group stages of the Club World Cup, which begins on Sunday. However, the Uefa Conference League winners were not willing to overpay for Maignan given that the 29-year-old will be available on a free transfer next summer. They were willing to pay around €15m (£12.7m) for the former Lille goalkeeper, with Milan demanding €25m. The clubs have been unable to reach an agreement and negotiations have ended for now. There remains a chance that Chelsea will revisit the situation with Maignan later this summer. The transfer window reopens on Monday, enabling teams in the Club World Cup to register new players for the tournament's knockout phase. Maignan can discuss a pre-contract with foreign clubs from next January. Chelsea, who travel to the USA on Friday and play LAFC in their opening game in Atlanta on Monday, have refused to be pressured into meeting Milan's demands. They remain happy with their quartet of goalkeepers, Robert Sánchez, Filip Jorgensen, Djordje Petrovic and Mike Penders. Sánchez excelled at the end of last season, recovering from a dip in form to help Enzo Maresca's side qualify for the Champions League. There is huge excitement about Penders following the highly rated 19-year-old's arrival from Genk. Marcus Bettinelli, Chelsea's current No 3, is joining Manchester City. The Blues who have already boosted their attack by signing Liam Delap for £30m, are also looking for a right-footed left winger. They have had a bid rejected for Gittens but are relaxed about the situation. The 20-year-old has agreed a seven-year contract with Chelsea but Dortmund, who are also in the Club World Cup, want up to £50m for the England Under-21 international.
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Chelsea halt negotiations with Milan for Mike Maignan after failing to agree fee
Chelsea have cooled their interest in Mike Maignan after failing to agree a fee with Milan for the goalkeeper before the Club World Cup. The Stamford Bridge club, who are also pursuing a deal for the Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens, commenced talks with Milan after being presented with an opportunity to sign Maignan. The France international has a year left on his deal and has indicated that he wants to join Chelsea. Chelsea's hope has been to push transfers for Maignan and Gittens through before Tuesday's 7pm BST registration deadline for the group stages of the Club World Cup, which begins on Sunday. However, the Uefa Conference League winners were not willing to overpay for Maignan given that the 29-year-old will be available on a free transfer next summer. They were willing to pay around €15m (£12.7m) for the former Lille goalkeeper, with Milan demanding €25m. The clubs have been unable to reach an agreement and negotiations have ended for now. There remains a chance that Chelsea will revisit the situation with Maignan later this summer. The transfer window reopens on Monday, enabling teams in the Club World Cup to register new players for the tournament's knockout phase. Maignan can discuss a pre-contract with foreign clubs from next January. Chelsea, who travel to the USA on Friday and play LAFC in their opening game in Atlanta on Monday, have refused to be pressured into meeting Milan's demands. They remain happy with their quartet of goalkeepers, Robert Sánchez, Filip Jorgensen, Djordje Petrovic and Mike Penders. Sánchez excelled at the end of last season, recovering from a dip in form to help Enzo Maresca's side qualify for the Champions League. There is huge excitement about Penders following the highly rated 19-year-old's arrival from Genk. Marcus Bettinelli, Chelsea's current No 3, is joining Manchester City. The Blues who have already boosted their attack by signing Liam Delap for £30m, are also looking for a right-footed left winger. They have had a bid rejected for Gittens but are relaxed about the situation. The 20-year-old has agreed a seven-year contract with Chelsea but Dortmund, who are also in the Club World Cup, want up to £50m for the England Under-21 international.
